Hat Trick
by Scarlet Phlame
Summary: With the curse broken and Cora evidently coming to town, Regina has to not only deal with the pain and suffering of losing the final battle, but losing Henry... That is, until one simple query leads to an unexpected situation. Is it possible to bring people from the past back using Jefferson's hat? (I own nothing.) Stable Queen. UP FOR ADOPTION NOW!
1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet day in Storybrooke, Maine, apart from the fact that the curse had just been broken and that there was an entire mob out to kill Regina. Well, Regina knew she couldn't call herself that anymore. She knew she would always be considered the Evil Queen in the eyes of the citizens of Storybrooke. Even in the eyes of her own son.

She regretted the apple more than anything, now. Jefferson had always told her the hat's capabilities. That it could bring objects back from the past, but not people. That simply couldn't happen. She had never tried it, though, what was the point? After all, Jefferson had no reason to lie to her, therefore it must be true.

She raised a hand and traced along the cool window pane, smiling slightly as she watched the explosion of purple smoke saturate and settle over the town. Never before had she felt so broken before, and yet, so safe and secure. Now she had means of defense. Perhaps she could even take Henry back, now that she had her powers back.

But she shook her head. She knew that the only way she was ever going to get Henry back was if she truly could become his mother once more. She had to prove to him she was not the Evil Queen. If she had to rampage through a town to get her son back, she would, but she knew that after he had seen her kill again, she would never be the same to him as she was before. He would only pretend to love her out of fear.

No, if she was going to do this then she had to do it carefully. She couldn't allow herself to fall once more.

That one thought from earlier continued to gnaw at her mind, though. If you could bring back objects from the past, why not people? Could you travel to the past with that hat?

It was true she was in possession of the hat, yes, but on the other hand, she was also in possession of his hatred. She knew he had felt betrayed by her after her last little charade, so she was going to have to bring out the big guns now.

He hadn't been clear of the hat before, and it was only now that she had begun to question his motives.

Her hands curled into fists, knuckles turning a pale shade of white. If he had been lying, then she would kill him very gladly. How dare he keep her one true love from her... but it was no time to point fingers and accuse, so she sucked in a deep breath and finally broke her gaze off from the window. It was time to prepare for a battle, because she knew one would be coming and there was no point in staring off into space when every single moment counting down to every single second could be her last. When every breath she took could be one breath closer to her end.

The sound of her footsteps lightly tapping down the staircase echoed gloomily through the empty hall. Before, she remembered her house had seemed too full. Now it felt empty and lonely as she had when she had first moved here. Henry had brought a life to both her and this house.

She knew that even if he had left the house before, when he was still living here, it wouldn't feel as lonely as it did now. Because there was always that thick anticipation, the knowing thought that travelled to her in that one time of need, reminding her that he would return home. But now, that thought would not drift to her, and even if it did, she knew it was going to be a lie.

Henry was not coming back home and he was never going to, and she knew that now more than anything. He had Emma, and that was all he ever needed in life. Maybe he would even find the scum of a father who left him all alone and the three would be happy. Just the thought of it made her blood boil.

Emma had promised her she shouldn't worry about her. She had stated time and time again she was not here to take Henry from her. She had lied so blatantly. Well, maybe not about Henry. She hadn't taken Henry from her. She had done something undoable, unforgivable.

She had torn Henry away from her and all her hopes of ever being happy again. She had blown her entire world to bits and set off as though it were an accident, when in reality, Emma Swan did not deserve Henry. She had left him alone all those years ago. Pfft to the whole "it was for your own good" thing. In the end, Emma Swan did not deserve the win. She was nothing more than an egotistical brat with self-centered reasons.

A brat that had defeated her and broken her.

Tears began to cascade from her eyes, but she hurriedly wiped them away. She was not going to fall, not now. No, she was going to find a way to get to Jefferson and then she was going to find out if the hat really had the power to save someone who had died with its powers.

* * *

_**Sometimes, I wonder why the creators of Once named the episode "Broken" broken. Was it because of the curse? The post card? Maybe Regina? I suppose we'll never know.**_

_**This is my second time trying out one of those what-if stories. I really hope you'll enjoy this one, and, as always, please R&R!**_

_**P.S. If anyone is wondering why I stopped doing reviews, just know that it's because it was way too time consuming to do so, but I still appreciate feedback as much as before! ^^ Thank you all!**_


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't care if they turn me green," she snapped furiously. "No matter what the cost, I am getting my son back."

It had been around couple of days later and everything still hurt as much as it did the day Henry left her. She didn't care anymore, well, she didn't want to care, yet, alas and alack, she couldn't help but feel torn and driven by countless emotions and anger, things she had only felt as the Evil Queen.

When it came down to it, she couldn't stand how unfair it all was. She got blown around in the wind like a discarded piece of trash while Snow and Charming were together. When, really, what made her any different from them? Really, why couldn't she win with Daniel? Because true love always won over and what she had with Daniel wasn't? She wasn't going to take the shiz, it was all a lie and she hated every one of them anyway.

She heard Gold laugh from the corner of the shop. "What?" she snapped, because she could tell that he had something to say but was just holding back, and she really didn't know what to think or do. She honestly knew him very well, probably better than he would like to, but it was all for her own advantage.

"It's just... holding that... Once I told you I couldn't see it... but now I do." She let out a huff in anger and spun back around and out of the shop.

It was true that she had lied about getting Henry back. That was not what the spells were for at all. It hadn't taken her long to realize that magic was different here and there was absolutely no other way for her to obtain the secrets she was searching for by any other means except for magic. It simply was not possible.

Her biggest problem now was that she had waited. She had waited too long, and now, the hat was in cinders thanks to Emma and Snow White. This meant she needed Jefferson more than anything and also that she had to fight with everything she had if she wanted to find another way to get to Daniel, if it really was true and he had been lying the entire time. She refused to believe that there was no way, she hadn't given up all hope in her dream, not quite yet.

* * *

She knocked on Jefferson's door patiently, a determined look settling onto her features. She didn't really expect him to be here, of course, and when there was no answer, she was okay with that too.

The only problem was now she had to find him and there was no possible way that he was going to let her find him after what she had done to him.

She could grab Grace and hold her as ransom until Jefferson came for her and then she could make him do whatever she pleased, but she simply wasn't that cruel anymore and she knew how she would hate it if someone used Henry to take power over her. That was simply out of options for bringing him to her, so she knew she was going to have to do some searching around if she wanted to find him.

An idea struck her like lighting. If Charming wanted to get Emma and Snow back, then he would be searching for the creator of the hat and therefore he needed to find Jefferson too. If she could use him to find where Jefferson was, then all her problems would be solved, and, as much as an idiot Charming was, she knew he wasn't going to let the madman escape so easily before he had the answers he wanted.

Or maybe he would scare him off and then she could confront him there. Yes, that sounded like a tasteful plan, so she twisted her face into a smirk because she knew there was truly no way that she could fail now.

"I'm getting you back, Daniel," She said, determined, and she headed back to Gold's shop to give him the potion that would lead a very Charming prince to the person she needed to find.

* * *

She couldn't quite make out what the two of them were saying from where she was hiding, but she knew that the conversation was not going well considering the look on Jefferson's face. From years and years of lying immersed in darkness she had possessed a fairly good talent for making the distinction of emotion one person could bear, and right now Jefferson was clearly on edge.

However, she really hadn't expected him to run off in the manner he did, but she knew that now she could catch him and figure out what she wanted to know. She also knew Charming would run after him as well, but thanks to her previous distraction at the town hall she knew he would be forced to calm the town down out of a panic. And if he didn't? That would be a blessing, perhaps she would not be bothered by any more mobs searching for blood, more specifically, for her blood.

She dashed down the path as quick as she could, and the first thought that crossed her mind was how foolish she had been to wear stiletto heels at a time like this, so she quickly tossed them off because she would rather be shoeless and happy than... whatever the opposite was.

She wasn't going to confront him now, only when Charming found out about her diversion, and then she was going to make him tell her everything from beginning to end.

She froze when she saw Ruby speaking with him, this was her chance now, surely a girl like Ruby would not let Charming abandon the town for two people, so she ran as fast as her feet would carry her, before casting a quick spell to subdue Jefferson once they were a respectable distance away from Charming.

As soon as his eyes lifted onto her they were filled with anger and hatred, and she let out a quiet chuckle.

"Hello, Jefferson."

* * *

_**Please R&R, they really encourage me to update as soon as possible and keep updates daily! ^^**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**So, I'm very sorry to say this, but I sort of lost my writing spark for this one. I hope you all understand. If you have any questions or want to know the synopsis/summary for this story, just PM me and let me know.**_

_**If anyone would like to continue this story or "adopt" it, just PM me and we can iron out the details and all. Meaning that it's now up for adoption.**_

_**Thank you for your understanding!**_

_**-Samantha M.**_

* * *

"What do you want?" Jefferson growled. A wicked smile inched its way across her lips.

"I want to know what the hat can do." Jefferson let out a slight chuckle, an eerie one, making Regina wonder if he was just mocking her now or he really had no clue as to what she meant by this. "Stop that," she snapped, losing her patience. She had risked too much to find him here, and she couldn't afford to get caught, so she grabbed his arm and teleported the two of them to her mansion.

"Now tell me what you know," she said sharply.

"I already have." She sneered at him, before disabling the restriction spell.

"Can the hat bring back people from the past?" She saw Jefferson shake his head hurriedly, but despite the fact she did not know him that well, she had a feeling that he was lying to her, so she raised her hand and began to squeeze, gradually pressurizing Jefferson's throat and causing him to clutch at it. "Can it?"

"It doesn't matter, you're going to kill me anyway," he choked. "So there isn't any point in giving you what you want." Regina thought for a second. Jefferson obviously did not care about his own life, perhaps he had even planned on ending it himself, and she knew threatening a thing that he could not care less about would not work.

"How about your dear Grace?" Regina released his throat for a moment, letting him take a few deep breaths.

"You... you wouldn't. H-henry is-"

"I'm after the thing I love most," Regina snapped. "Now tell me if it's true. If I can get him back."

Jefferson hesitated a long moment, and she was about to raise her hand again when he spoke. "It's possible, but it's the same rule as before. The same number of people who go in must go out." Regina's gaze darkened.

"You mean you knew about this before... and you didn't tell me? Why." She received an indirect stare from Jefferson and another long silence, so she simply reached inside his chest and made a grab for his heart, and it had been removed in one swift second. "Tell me," she commanded, ignoring the eye-bulging shock Jefferson was readily displaying.

"I... I made a deal. With Victor. Victor Frankenstein. And Rumplestiltskin, they wanted you to lose Daniel so you'd become the Evil Queen." The words were forced out, unnatural and eerie to the ear, but Regina had learned what she wanted to she forced it back in.

"How dare you," she gasped, striking his cheek with a hand, only to receive a laugh of sheer madness.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it. Your own tutor only wanted you evil to cast his own curse for his own selfish reasons." She took a step back, her brain making a wild attempt to absorb this information. All those years, Daniel could've been brought back. All those years of torment and eternal darkness, she could've been saved. Her hands began to itch with the urge to kill, and she wondered whether anyone would miss Jefferson...

No. She needed him alive, now, she needed him to make her another hat, one that would work.

"Can you make a new hat?" She demanded, and Jefferson shook his head and smiled in a sort of way she was unable to describe.

"If only you knew," he mumbled. His tone could be best described as amused.

"I don't have time for games, tell me. Or I will kill Grace and everything you hold dear." Something in the way Jefferson glared at her told her he wasn't hoping to risk something like that again. Her threats were now valid, something for Jefferson to fear, and she couldn't help but think Cora would be proud of her, although she was long gone and thankfully was never coming back.

"I can't make you a hat. But I do have one, from a while ago. I made Emma make it. She possesses powerful magic, it completely can work, it just didn't at the time because there wasn't any magic in Storybrooke.

"Where is it?" She demanded.

"My mansion," Jefferson blurted, because he was afraid for Grace and he knew what Regina's family was capable of and the danger they were all in at every minute. He wondered why Regina hadn't quite turned the town into charcoal yet, although he wondered if she might be having other problems with magic at the moment.

"Well, then, you had better take me to it," she snapped. "Can I operate it by myself? The hat?"

"Of course, it's the same as always, spin the hat, think of the object you want, and then you will find it. However, this time you have to think of a specific time setting, like I did with the apple, or you might mess up some time and space reality. Which could ultimately end up in sucking us all away in a black hole." Regina nodded, and despite the fact she hated Jefferson she was quite relieved to have him here because it sucked away most of her worries, in a certain manner.

"Well, then, let's get going, shall we? I do have a fiancé to be getting back to, and you to your daughter, after all."


End file.
